Sunday, November 30, 2014

Leftovers

I am talking about the Thanksgiving feast, of course--which was wonderful. The vegetarian daughter and son-in-law made a lentil Shepherd's Pie, a green bean casserole, vegetarian gravy and fresh cranberry relish. For the rest of us there

was a brined turkey baked in an infrared cooker. It comes out like a fried turkey without the whole oil mess to deal with--and a lot less calories, too. Add Cajun stuffing and wild rice casserole all preceded by an amazing cranberry salsa and we were all content and

full when we were done. Bring on the leftovers! And there were plenty of those for Friday starting at breakfast and ending quite late after a game of Trivial Pursuit.

But some of the leftovers weren't quite as tasty. I am still grieving the loss of my precious Marlowe last Sunday and though I tried my best to engage and laugh and enjoy my family and friends, he was always on my mind. He will be for a while, I know. Then there's the good-byes as my grown-up kids headed back to NYC yesterday. Those good-byes are more difficult than dealing with the mountain of dishes on Thursday, especially when you're unsure when you'll see them again. The kids, not the dishes. I'll be seeing plenty of them!

I'd love to hear some of the dishes you prepared--including the good, the bad or the ugly. (My bread was a fail and I used a recipe that had never failed before. But who needs bread with all that food?!) Whatever you did that day, I know something made you smile. Do share!

22 comments:

We had a low-key Thanksgiving. Ate at the in-laws, so no fuss, but lots of leftovers to take home and enjoy!I'm so sorry to hear about Marlowe. My heart goes out to you. As our sweet Nala gets older and has more health issues/scares, we are dreading the inevitable. But we remind ourselves to cherish her all the more. Be extra kind and gentle to yourself during this period of mourning. Hugs.

Great blog, Leann. I didn't have much in the way of leftovers--the only interesting thing I did was slice the left over cornbread and run it under the broiler to make "toast" for breakfast. It was very good! And I saved the left over home-made cranberry sauce and will use it on "cold plates"--it was too good to throw out.

Just Mother and me here, so I just heated a honey ham (already fully cooked), made a sweet potato casserole, frozen peas, and a pumpkin pie. My sweet Breezy went to the Rainbow Bridge on Christmas Eve in 2011 when she was just 3 years old, and Christmas Eves haven't been the same since, and probably never will. But there are so many sweet memories there, too. Marlowe enriched all of our lives with his fighting spirit, and you with your commitment to fighting it out with him. Give Wexford some extra hugs (if he'll let you; he is a cat after all--I forget, being a dog person!) and remember the good times. Hugs from here.

No leftovers here. I was out of town. I have followed your journey with Marlowe since he first became your guy. I am very sorry for your loss. And I know Marlowe is very glad to have had you in his life.

Sorry again about Marlowe, glad you had some time with family, but yes, it's hard when they have to go home.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving, first time just the 2 of us since granddaughter had to work, but I have been told I still "cook for an Army" and it's true on holidays as well, except this year I didn't try any new recipes.

Leftovers - the first day everybody wants to pretty much just repeat the big meal. Once those sides are gone I start with the other recipes - the soup that all year is hearty chicken with stuffed ravioli, tortellini, tomatoes, carrots, beans or peas . . . becomes a turkey version. Turkey tettrazini. Also something called Turkey Devonshire (who knows why?). A recipe I cut out of a magazine years ago has turned into something everybody wants. Layer toast, turkey slices, a kind of white sauce made with gravy, cream, Swiss cheese, and bacon. Sounds weird but everybody loves it.

And this year we had a Thanksgiving surprise! Baby Delaney made her appearance a couple weeks early. She is a teeny, tiny, beautiful little girl, what a blessing.

We had a small, quiet holiday due to getting ready to battle a bug invasion. We eat turkey all the time, so we just took a bunch of chicken leg quarters, covered them with turkey gacon and maple syrup ( many years back we found a Tyler Florence recipie for doing that with turkey, and we don't do pork so we've tweaked it and made it much easier than the fussy original). It works well with chicken. We had squash and baby red poatoes and a kitchen sink pumpkin pie-bread for dessert. We didn't go into turkey coma and had virtually zero leftovers. We watched the Dog Show and read....great day

Sounds good to me. Homemade cranberry sauce is the best. I often make a cranberry chutney (had the recipe for years) but this year my daughter-in-law on the west coast asked for the recipe. My son LOVES it (and so do I). We just had too much going on in the kitchen to make it this year.

Sounds like a good meal to me! I cannot tolerate nitrates (migraine trigger) so I miss having honey baked ham. It's the best. I think every Thanksgiving from now on I will think of Marlowe and give thanks he came into my life. He was my sweet baby until the end. Wexford wants hugs all the time for the last week. He is feeling the loss very much.

Sorry you were sick! My daughter started with a cold the day after Thanksgiving. Sounds like you made the best of it and we watched at least some of the dog show while getting dinner ready. I had only one slice of turkey and piled on the veggies so no turkey coma for me. My husband was another story!! LOL.

Sorry for the loss of your fur baby.Wexford may need you to find a friend for him in this next year.I am making turkey soup. Last month we actually finished up the last of the frozen soup. It must have been awesome to have your family in your new home. The first Thanksgiving there.

Thanks Diane. We are still having a hard time accepting that Marlowe is gone. :-( Especially Wexford. My mother made the best turkey soup after Thanksgiving but I never got her recipe--all her recipes were in her head. She's been gone for 37 years. First Thanksgiving here was awesome. It was so nice to use all the counterspace and new appliances!!

I am very sorry for your loss. Marlowe was an exceptional kitty. I could tell by how you wrote about him. You and Wexford are blessed to have each other to share your grief. Kitties are members of our families aren't they?

So sorry about Marlowe. It took months for me not to cry every time I thought of Bandit, but he is in a pretty little box on top of the bookcase in my office. I had intended to put his ashes under one of the plants when I landscaped my yard this past summer but couldn't do it. Then over the weekend I was sure I would lose his brother, Spats, but the meds kicked in Sunday night. I was talking to the vet today and we agreed that Spats has had 18, not 9, lives. He had back surgery before he was 2, is "allergic to the world (30 confirmed allergens)," has a heart murmur, has horrible teeth, is almost 17, and is getting over conjunctivitis and pancreatitis. Very expensive but worth every penny.

On a happier subject, I wanted to share one of my recipes which I made for Thanksgiving. It's been in my family for a long time as it comes from my mom's aunt, but don't think it was hers originally: Completely dissolve 1/2 cup red hots (cinnamon imperials) in 1 cup boiling water. Add 2 small boxes or 1 large box red Jell-O (I use strawberry) and 1 cup boiling water and dissolve completely. Add 2 cups applesauce and refrigerate. When the Jell-O is partially set, add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped celery and 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to it. I usually make it the day before I need it so it is set well. I also use sugar-free Jell-O and no sugar added applesauce to cut down the calories. Be warned: This is a dish which people either really like or really don't. Cordella

Thanks so much Cordella. They just hang onto your heart and won't let go/ The recipe sounds wonderful! Anything with Jell-O is good as far as I'm concerned. My grandma made lots of desserts every holiday, but she ALWAYS made a batch of Jell-O, too! Good memories! :-)